Squelch that belch: Flatulent Cows that fart less could help climate crisis
Pastor Dale Morgan
Squelch that belch: Flatulent Cows that fart less could help climate crisis*
LONDON (Reuters) — Manners aside, getting cows to burp and fart less
could help reduce global warming.
Using modern plant-breeding methods to find new diets for flatulent cows
that make them belch less is a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
scientists reported this week.
The key is developing new varieties of food that are easier for cattle
to digest and also provide a proper balance of fibre, protein and sugar,
said Michael Abberton, a scientist at the U.K.-based Institute of
Grassland and Environmental Research.
This could open up plant-based solutions as alternatives to reducing
stock as farmers look for ways to cut methane emissions amid warming
climates, he told a briefing on farming and climate change at London's
Science Media Centre.
He noted the average dairy cow belches out about 100 to 200 litres of
methane each day, making diet changes a key potential factor in reducing
this greenhouse gas.
"There is a common misperception about how methane gets into the
atmosphere," he said. "It is actually through belching rather than the
other end."
Agriculture is responsible for about seven percent of U.K. greenhouse
gas emissions and a large proportion of two of the most potent gases
with 37% of methane and 67% of nitrous oxide.
Greenhouse gases are widely blamed for causing global warming.
Scientists say average temperatures will rise by between 3.2°F and 7.2°F
by the end of the century, causing droughts, floods and violent storms.
Abberton said introducing easier-to-digest legumes that tend to reduce
methane emissions is an example of an approach scientists are beginning
to explore. Legumes such as clover and alfalfa are commonly used for
animal fodder.
It also requires farmers to balance cows' legume intake with other food
and to develop different species of grass that are also more digestible,
he added.
"What I'm saying is there are approaches within plant breeding that can
lead to reduced emissions," he said.